I have a few that stand out to me! :)
(1) As a surgical intern, she was the first nurse I befriended/was not scared of (haha). She patiently taught me how things worked with just enough light gentle teasing that I could tell she wanted me to be better but she wasn't going to make a huge fuss over it as long as I tried. Early on in my year, we shared one of my difficult cancer patients. By this point, we were already Facebook friends but didn't really hang out beyond this. She messaged me on Facebook and asked me several questions about his orders/care and either let me explain to her why we were doing something or gave me feedback on whether these were good ideas or not. I also then told her afterward that in the future, she should just text me directly, and this was the first time we shared phone numbers. I will still remember her as the first nurse I exchanged #s with and fostering my first connection with nurses. Thereafter, I proceeded to get many messages from her abotu asking me to explain what happened to certain patients in surgery, why we were doing specific orders, etc. IT was never in a patronizing way but truly because I could tell really was curious and wanted to know and do good by the patient. Just excellent nurse all around.
(2) We shared another patient in the ICU at one point who had a major cancer surgery reconstruction. She was his most devoted nurse and always asked me how he was doing, even when she wasn't on shift, even when she wasn't covering him, even after he was discharged. I happened to see him one day in clinic after he had finished all his treatments and healed, and by this point he was able to talk/eat/etc. without a trach or feeding tube. I was so ecstatic by how good he looked that I started talking to him about the amazing nurse who took care of him. "Lindsey?" he asked -- of course he knew exactly who it was. I then asked if he gave me permission for us to record a little video for her, and he was more than happy to. I still have that video but he essentially thanks her for being an incredible caretaker and shows off how far he's come since he last saw her. When I did show her the video, she was so touched because she says she never gets to see how patients do after they leave the hospital, and she was so happy to see him thriving.
(3) I don't remember how we got on the subject of this, but we learned that we both love broadway musicals. We had been meaning to go to one for some time but never got around to it. Finally, RENT came to RVA, and with it being the first time I would see it live, I wanted to share it with someone who would appreciate it as much as I would. So I asked her, and we went together to a matinee showing, and it was just as amazing as I thought it would be. We also sang those songs for hours afterward.
(4) Random snippet - again, I forgot how I learned her appreciation for cake, but there was one late night that I was exhausted/hungry, and I decided to order some Shyndigz. I had seen her earlier on the ICU so I asked if she wanted me to get her anything. We bonded over our love for the fresh fruit cake and she of course also asked me for diet coke. I dropped it off for her before I left the hospital that night, and I know she loved it but also I was again so happy that I had succeeded in befriending a nurse so well!
(5) Fast forward to later in my training... by this point, I was pretty burnt out and really could not muster the energy one night when I got called in to the ICU to check on someone. I was tired, depressed, and generally felt hopeless. She saw me walking by and immediately noticed my affect. After I went to see my patient, I came out, and she just wordlessly wrapped me up in a big hug and told me everything would be okay.
(6) When she first told me that she was going to study to be an NP, I was ecstatic for her and so proud for her. She told me that maybe in the future, she could come work in my future practice bc we would both finish around the same time. I told her I would LOVE to have her on my team. I'm sure she told a lot of other trainees/doctors this seeing how loved she was, but it just showed me how enthusiastic she was about patient care and pursuing education and fostering good relationships.
(7) Again, don't know how it happened, but we discovered we both loved books. We've been friends on goodreads for a long time with pretty significant overlap , although she did err more toward the thriller/horror side than me, and I probably read more fantasy than her. She was the only one of my friends who was CONSTANTLY beating me at the annual book challenge, despite everyone else telling me that I "read so much". She always read the books I wanted to read before me, and so I would peek at her reviews to see if I should really dive in or not. Bc she read so much, I'm thankful I still have a bunch that I can go through to catch up with her but I will miss seeing her updates in my feed, miss her opinions on upcoming books, and miss sharing our recommendations to each other.
